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Indonesian search team raises tail of crashed AirAsia plane

Part of the tail of the AirAsia flight QZ8501 plane floats on the water's surface as Indonesian Navy divers conduct search operations for the flight recorders of the aircraft in the Java sea, off Borneo, Indonesia, 10 January 2015.

PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia - Indonesian search and rescue teams raised on Saturday the tail of an AirAsia passenger jet that crashed nearly two weeks ago with the loss of all 162 people on board, and will soon search it for the flight recorders.

Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501 lost contact with air traffic control during bad weather on Dec. 28, less than half way into a two-hour flight from Indonesia to Singapore. There were no survivors.

AirAsia flight QZ8501 lost contact after taking off from Indonesia

"Yes, the tail is already on the surface," Supriyadi, operations coordinator for the National Search and Rescue Agency, told reporters in the town of Pangkalan Bun, the base for the search effort on Borneo.

"It's currently being brought close to a ship and then it will be towed. And then they want to search for the black box."

The aircraft carries the cockpit voice and flight data recorders - or black boxes - near its tail.

However, officials had said earlier it looked as if the recorders, which will be vital to the investigation into why the airliner crashed, had become separated during the disaster.

"The divers looked for the black box but they didn't find it," Supriyadi said.

Debris of AirAsia flight QZ8501 and bodies found

Strong winds, currents and high waves have been hampering efforts to reach other large pieces of suspected wreckage detected by sonar on the sea floor, and to find the remaining victims.

On Friday, Supriyadi said the pings were believed to have been detected about 1 km (half a mile) away from the tail.

If the recorders had become separated from the tail they could be covered in mud, making the search in the murky water that much more difficult, he said.

"The pings can only be detected within a radius of 500 metres (1,640 feet) so it can be a large area to cover," he said.

If and when the recorders are found and taken to the capital, Jakarta, for analysis, it could take up to two weeks to download data, investigators said, although the information could be accessed in as little as two days if the devices are not badly damaged.

Singapore ship recovers downed AirAsia plane's items

While the cause of the crash is not known, the national weather bureau has said seasonal storms were likely to be a factor.

The plane was travelling at 32,000 feet (9,753 metres) and had asked to fly at 38,000 feet to avoid bad weather.

When air traffic controllers granted permission for a rise to 34,000 feet a few minutes later, they received no response.

The pilots did not issue a distress signal.

The Indonesian captain, a former Air Force fighter pilot, had 6,100 flying hours and the plane last underwent maintenance in mid-November, said the airline, which is 49 per cent owned by Malaysia-based budget carrier AirAsia.

The AirAsia group, including affiliates in Thailand, the Philippines and India, had not suffered a crash since its Malaysian budget operations began in 2002.